2.4. Priority, secondary and hidden aims

Basically a hierarchy of aims is depending on the stakeholders, their different points of view and their decision-powers. These hierarchies are very often not “visible” because they are not explicitly presented as a ranking. Naturally priority regeneration aims differ from area to area according to the specific circumstances, problems, needs and interests.

Almost in all ENTRUST cases physical regeneration was the priority at the start of the process, e.g. in Glasgow, Hamburg, La Valetta, Lisbon and Vilnius. The ‘social inclusion' issue became more important during the process due to the fact that the responsible levels realised that regeneration is about more than ‘bricks and mortar'. This fact can be seen in the development of national or regional regeneration-programmes over the last decade, too.

Regarding the answers to our checklist hidden aims do not exist in the cases, e.g. because “the process is transparent” (Copenhagen). But in fact there are hidden aims probably in all the case-studies, but they are usually difficult to name just because they can not easily be officially acknowledged. Therefore hidden aims can not be discovered and named prior to evaluation and / or before impacts of these hidden aims appear.

A good example for hidden aims is the above mentioned conflict between upgrading an area and safeguarding the local population. All ENTRUST partners focus on the aim of upgrading an area (i.e. improvement of general qualities, living conditions and economic opportunities) but all have more or less difficulties to clearly articulate this aim, be­cause there is a ‘natural' conflict with some social aims (see above).

Officially declared political aims often have underlying aims. And the target-groups of a regeneration process are sometimes hidden, too: Do we aim at middle-class households from outside the area or at under­privileged social groups? Do we aim at private investors or at public funds?

In multi-targeted holistic strategies of integrated regeneration a latent hidden agenda seems to be unavoidable. Does this mean that there are too many aims in integrated strategies? And if so what should be the consequence – the end of integrated regeneration? The important question is, whether the scope of the variety of aims is properly balanced and their relations are well discussed so that conflicts during the implementation process could be avoided.